Refrigerator

ABSTRACT

Refrigerator for enabling putting in or taking out food to/from a basket ( 55 ) therein with of lowering a position of the user, such as bending oneself, and enabling the user to look into an inside of the basket ( 55 ) conveniently as the basket ( 55 ) is tilted in a lifted up state.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a refrigerator from a basket of whichfood can be taken out conveniently.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, the refrigerator stores food at a low temperature. A relatedart refrigerator will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

The related art refrigerator is provided with a body 10 having storagechambers 11, and 12, and doors 21, and 22 for opening/closing the body.The body 10 is divided into upper/lower storage chambers 11, and 12 by apartition 13 (see FIG. 2). The upper/lower storage chambers 11, and 12have upper/lower doors 21, and 22, respectively.

The upper doors 21 have hinges 21 a at upper and lower ends forrotatably opening the upper doors 21 in left/right sides, respectively.The door 22 is slidably mounted in the body 10, for opening/closing thestorage chamber 12 as the door 22 slides in a front/rear direction. Thatis, there are door rails 14 extendably mounted in front/rear directionon opposite sidewalls of the storage chamber for slidably supporting thedoor. Each of the door rails 14 has at least two rails each with a “⊂”section joined overlapped with the other, to form an extendablestructure.

Inside of the storage chamber 12, there is a basket 24 with an openedtop for putting food therein. The basket 22 can be drawn out of thestorage chamber 12 together with the door 22. In general, vegetables orfruits are stored in the basket 24. Between the upper/lower storagechambers 11, and 12, there are drawers as shown in FIG. 2.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, the related art refrigerator has the following problems.

That is, when the basket is mounted at a lower portion of the body,since a position of the basket is low, the user is required to lowerposition by bending or squatting down for putting or taking out food.Particularly, because the user is required to find, and take out a kindof food from various kinds of food in a state the user bends, a timeperiod of the user's bending becomes long, which is harmful to thehealth of the user.

Technical Solution

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a refrigerator thatsubstantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator whichenables a user to put, or take out food in/from a basket withoutlowering the user's position when the basket is mounted at a lowerportion of a body thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeratorwhich has a basket of which inside can be seen well for taking outdesired food therefrom, more conveniently.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, arefrigerator includes a body having a storage space therein, a doorslidably mounted on the body for opening/closing the storage space inthe body, a basket arranged in the storage space, a lift assemblyfixedly secured to the door to enable to draw the basket, to enable tomove up/down the basket when the door is opened, and to tilt the basketwhen the basket reaches to an upper side, and a driving unit for movingup/down the lift assembly.

Preferably, the lift assembly includes a lift for supporting the basket,and a guide member fixedly secured to the door for guiding the lift tomove up/down, and having a portion sloped toward a front side of thebody for tilting the lift when the lift reaches to the upper side.

Preferably, the guide member has an upper side sloped toward the frontside of the body.

Preferably, the lift has substantially a “L” shape for supporting anunderside and a front of the basket.

Preferably, the lift includes a sliding member for slidably coupling tothe guide member. More preferably, the sliding member is arranged onesided on the upper side with respect to the middle of a height of thelift.

Preferably, the driving unit includes a driving motor, a gear unit fixedto a driving shaft of the driving motor, a driven shaft fixed to thegear unit, and a driving arm fixed to the driven shaft for movingup/down the lift.

In another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator includes abody having a storage space therein, a door slidably mounted on the bodyfor opening/closing the storage space in the body, a basket arranged inthe storage space, a lift assembly including a lift for supporting afront side and an underside of the basket, a guide member fixedlysecured to the door for guiding the lift to move up/down, having aportion sloped toward a front side of the body for tilting the lift whenthe lift reaches to the upper side, and a sliding member arranged onesided on the upper side with respect to the middle of a height of thelift, and movably coupled to the guide member, and a driving unit formoving up/down the lift assembly.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings;

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a related art refrigerator;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the refrigerator in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of a refrigerator in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view showing a lift assembly, and adriving unit of the refrigerator in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view showing a guide member mounted ona door of the refrigerator in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a side view showing a lifted state of the basket inthe refrigerator in FIG. 3.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

A refrigerator in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, the refrigerator includes a body 10 having storagechambers 11, and 12, a door 50 slidably mounted on the body foropening/closing the storage chamber 12 in the body 12, a basket 55 inthe storage chamber 12, a lift assembly 60 mounted to the door 50 fordrawing out the basket 55, moving the basket 55 up/down in a door openstate, and tilting the basket 55 when the basket reaches to an upperside of the door, and a driving unit 70 for moving up/down the liftassembly.

The present invention is applicable to a refrigerator having one storagechamber, or two or more than two storage chambers arranged in an up/downdirection as far as the basket arranged at a lower position is movablein up/down direction. In this instance, the basket may be mounted to abottom storage chamber or a storage chamber on the bottom storagechamber as far as the basket is at the lower position. FIG. 3illustrates an example in which the basket is mounted to the bottomstorage chamber of the body having two or more than two storagechambers.

It is preferable that there is an control unit 52 on a front of the door50 for moving up/down the lift assembly 60 by means of the driving unit70. It is preferable that the control unit 52 has a button (not shown)for selecting moving up/down of the lift assembly 60. The driving unit70 may be designed to move up if a predetermined time period is passedafter the door 50 is opened. In this case, the control unit 52 isrequired to have a moving down button 52 only.

Moreover, on opposite sidewalls of the storage chamber 12, there are twoor more than two door rails 14 overlapped on the other each extendablewhen the door 50 is opening/closing. For an example, by slidably joiningdoor rails each having substantially a “⊂” section between the door 50and the body 10, the door rails can be fabricated extendable. There maybe a variety of door rail structures as far as the door rail isextendable when the door is opened/closed.

An embodiment of the lift assembly and the driving unit will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 4.

The lift assembly 60 includes a lift 61 for supporting the basket 55,and a guide member 63 fixedly secured to the door 50 for guiding movingup/down of the lift 61, having a portion sloped toward a front side ofthe body 10 for tilting the lift 61 when the lift 61 reaches to an upperside of the door.

It is preferable that the lift has a sliding member 62 for slidablymounting the lift to the guide member. There may be a variety of slidingmember structures, including rollers.

It is preferable that the lift 61 has substantially a “L” shape forsupporting an underside and a front of the basket 55 for securesupporting of the underside of the basket 55 on which a load of thebasket 55 acts, and of the front on which the load of the basket 55 actswhen the basket 55 tilts. Of course, it is apparent that the lift 61 maybe designed to support opposite sides, front and rear, or a top of thebasket 55. There may be a variety of shapes of the lift 61 as far as thelift 61 can move up/down the basket 55.

Moreover, the lift 61 has a fall off preventing rib 61 a for holding anunderside of the basket 55.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, it is preferable that the guide member 63has one surface of a rear side sloped to forward by a predeterminedangle θ. The slope at an upper side of the guide member tilts an upperside moving path of the sliding member to a front side of the body 10.It is preferable that a portion of the door has a slot 51 of apre-determined size for inserting the sliding member 62.

It is preferable that the guide member 63 is mounted on a rear surfaceof the door symmetrically, for balanced action of the weight balance ofthe basket 55 on the lift 61. For an example, if an odd number of theguide members 63 are arranged vertically, it is preferable that one isarranged in the middle of the door 50, and the other two are arranged onopposite side symmetry with respect to the guide member at the middle.As shown in FIG. 5, it is preferable that the guide member is arrangedon opposite sides symmetrically with respect to the middle of the door50 if an even number of the guide members are to be arranged,vertically.

The sliding members 62 are inserted in the guide members 63,respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, the guide members 63 have facingopened surfaces, or, though not shown, opposite opened surfaces. Ofcourse, it is apparent that a surface of the guide member 63 on a body10 side of the refrigerator may be opened. Besides above structure,there may be a variety of structures of the guide member.

The sliding member 62 is secured to one surface of the lift 61 on a doorside thereof opposite to the guide member 63. As an example, it ispreferable that two or more than two rows of the sliding members 62 aresecured to the lift 61 opposite to the guide members 63. Or, only onesliding member 60 may be secured opposite to every guide member 63.

It is preferable that the sliding member 60 is arranged one sided on anupper side of the lift 61 with respect to a middle of height of the lift61. This is for the sliding member to make stable supporting of thebasket and the lift assembly at the time the lift 61 is lifted up andtilted to a front side when weights of the basket 55 and the liftassembly 60 act on a body 10 side.

The door 50 has a top sensor 65 a for sensing reach of the lift 61 to anuppermost position, and a bottom sensor 65 b for sensing reach of thelift 61 to a lowest position. The top sensor 65 a and the bottom sensor65 b are position sensors. It is preferable that the top, and bottomsensors 65 a, and 65 b are connected to a control unit (not shown), andthe control unit is connected to the driving unit 70, electrically.

The driving unit 70 includes a driving motor 71, a gear unit 73 fixed toa driving shaft 72 of the driving motor 71, a driven shaft 74 fixed tothe gear unit 73, and a driving arm 75 having one end fixed to thedriven shaft 74 and the other end arranged to push up the lift 61.

It is preferable that the driving motor 71 is reversible for movingup/down the basket 55.

The gear unit 73 includes a driving gear 73 a fixed to the driving shaft72 of the driving motor 71, and a driven gear 73 b engaged with thedriving gear 73 a and fixed to the driving shaft 74. There are thedriving arms 75 on opposite ends of the driven shaft 74. Since thedriving arms 75, fixed to the same shaft, have the same rotation speed,enabling to make balanced lift up of the lift 61.

It is preferable that the gear unit 73 has an appropriate gear ratio,taking a rotation speed of the driving arm 75 into account. The gearratio of the gear unit 73 is required to be designed such that thedriving arm 75 has a torque enough to push up the lift 61. It ispreferable that there is a roller 76 mounted to the other end of thedriving arm 75 for sliding along an underside of the lift 61.

In the meantime, though not shown, as the driving unit, there may be thefollowing variation.

As the driving unit, a rack and pinion structure may be used. Thedriving unit moves up/down together with the basket. In this instance,the rack is fixedly secured to the door vertically, and the pinion iscoupled to a motor with a shaft, to move up/down along the rack. Whenthe motor rotates, the pinion moves up/down along the rack, to make thebasket to move up/down. In this instance, it is required that the motoris mounted to be movable with the lift assembly.

Moreover, it is apparent that a ball screw system can be employed as thedriving unit. The ball screw is secured to the door vertically, formoving up/down the basket as the ball screw rotates. In this structure,the driving motor only rotates the ball screw, but is fixed such thatthe driving motor does not move up/down.

The operation of the foregoing preferred embodiment of the presentinvention will be described.

When the user pulls the door 50 forward, the door rails 14 are extendedas the door 50 slides. In this instance, as the door rails 14 have apredetermined number of stages of rails mounted overlapped with theother, the door rails 14 extend as the door 50 is opened.

After opening the door fully, a button is selected from the control unit52 for putting the driving unit 70 into operation.

Following rotation of the driving motor 71, both the driving gear 73 aand the driven gear 73 b rotate, and as the driving shaft 74 fixed tothe driven gear 73 b rotates, the driving arm 75 rotates. In thisinstance, since the driving arms 75 are fixed at opposite sides of thedriving shaft 74, the other ends of the driving arm 75 apply the sameforce to opposite sides of the lift 61, to push up the lift 61. At thesame time with this, the sliding member 62 rotates on, and moves upwardalong the guide member 63.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the lift 61 reaches to the upper side of theguide member 63, the sliding member 62 is positioned at a sloped surfaceof the guide member 63. Therefore, following tilting of the lift 61, thebasket 55 is tilted. In this instance, weights of the lift 61 and thebasket 55 act on the sliding member 62 and the guiding member 63.According to this, the sliding member 62 applies a reaction force towarda front side of the body 10, and a lower side sliding member 62 appliesa reaction force toward a rear side of the body 10.

As the basket 55 moves up thus, the user can take out desired food fromthe basket 55 in a standing position. Moreover, as the basket 55 istilted, the user can see an inside of the basket 55, permitting toidentify desired food, more quickly.

When the user selects the button 52 after the user takes out the foodthus, the driving motor 71 rotates in a direction opposite to the timethe basket 55 moves up. According to this, when the lift 61 and thebasket 55 move down to a lower portion, the user pushes the door 50 intothe storage chamber 12. In this instance, the door 50 is closedfollowing overlap of the door rails 14.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As has been described, the refrigerator of the present invention has thefollowing advantages.

First, since the basket at a lower portion of the body is mountedmovable in an up/down direction, the user can put in, or take out foodwithout lowering position, such as bending oneself.

Second, since the basket is tilted in a moved up state, the user canlook into an inside of the basket conveniently. According to this, theuser can find out food more comfortably, and more quickly.

Third, the quicker taking out of food from the basket permits to shortena door open time period, to reduce loss of cold air, together withreduction of power consumption.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1-12. (canceled)
 13. A refrigerator, comprising: a body having a storagespace therein; a door slidably mounted on the body to open and close thestorage space; a basket mounted on the door and which slides into andout of the storage space with the door; and a lift assembly mounted onthe door, wherein the lift assembly moves the basket upward and downwardwith respect to the door.
 14. The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein thelift assembly causes the basket to tilt as it is lifted.
 15. Therefrigerator of claim 13, wherein the lift assembly comprises: a guideunit mounted on the door, wherein the guide unit guides upward anddownward movement of the basket; a sliding unit mounted on the guideunit, wherein the sliding unit moves along the guide unit as the basketis moved upward and downward; a lift unit that is attached to thesliding unit and that supports the basket; and a driving unit thatcauses the lift unit to move upward and downward with respect to thedoor.
 16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein an upper portion of theguide unit is sloped such that the basket will tilt as it moves upwardwith respect to the door.
 17. The refrigerator of claim 16, wherein theupper portion of the guide unit is sloped towards the front of the bodyof the refrigerator.
 18. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the liftunit supports a bottom and a front side of the basket.
 19. Therefrigerator of claim 15, wherein the lift unit includes at least onerib that prevents the basket from failing off the lift unit as thebasket is moved.
 20. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein a portion ofthe sliding unit that engages the guide unit is located above the liftunit.
 21. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the guide unit comprisestwo guide rails located on opposite side of the door.
 22. Therefrigerator of claim 21, wherein the sliding unit comprises two slidingmembers, wherein each sliding member is mounted on a corresponding oneof the guide rails.
 23. The refrigerator of claim 22, wherein slots areformed on the door adjacent the upper portions of the guide rails, andwherein the sliding members pass into the slots as the basket is movedupward with respect to the door.
 24. The refrigerator of claim 22,wherein each sliding member comprises two rollers that move along one ofthe guide rails.
 25. The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the liftassembly includes a lift unit and a driving unit which causes the liftunit to move the basket upward and downward, and wherein the drivingunit comprises: a driving motor mounted on the door and having a drivingshaft; a driving gear fixed to the driving shaft; a driven gear mountedon a driven shaft, wherein the driven gear is engaged with the drivinggear; and at least one driven arm mounted on the driven shaft, whereinrotation of the driven shaft causes the at least one driven arm to movethe lift unit upward and downward relative to the door.
 26. Therefrigerator of claim 25, wherein a roller is mounted at an end of theat least one driven arm such that the roller contacts an underside ofthe lift unit.
 27. A refrigerator, comprising: a body having a storagespace therein; a door slidably mounted on the body to open and close thestorage space; a basket mounted on the door and which slides into andout of the storage space with the door; and a lift assembly mounted onthe door, wherein the lift assembly moves the basket upward and downwardwith respect to the door, the lift assembly comprising: a guide unitmounted on the door, wherein the guide unit guides upward and downwardmovement of the basket, and wherein the guide unit causes the basket totilt as it moves upward, a sliding unit mounted on the guide unit,wherein the sliding unit moves along the guide unit as the basket ismoved upward and downward, a lift unit that is attached to the slidingunit and that supports the basket, and a driving unit that causes thelift unit to move upward and downward with respect to the door.
 28. Therefrigerator of claim 27, wherein the guide unit comprises at least oneguide rail that guides movement of the sliding unit, and wherein anupper portion of the at least one guide rail is curved to cause thebasket to tilt.
 29. The refrigerator of claim 27, wherein the lift unitsupports a bottom and a front side of the basket such that the basketcan be stably supported as it lifts and tilts.
 30. The refrigerator ofclaim 27, wherein the driving unit comprises: at least one arm that isrotatably mounted on the door, wherein an upper end of the at least onearm supports a bottom of the lift unit; and a driving motor mounted onthe door and coupled to the at least one arm such that the at least onearm rotates when the motor is operated.
 31. The refrigerator of claim27, further comprising: a top sensor that detects when the basket hasmoved to the top of its moving path; and a bottom sensor that detectswhen the basket has moved to the bottom of its moving path.
 32. Therefrigerator of claim 27, wherein when the door is slid out from thestorage space, the driving unit automatically causes the basket to bemoved upward with respect to the door, and further comprising a controlunit which a user can operate to cause the driving unit to move thebasket downward with respect to the door.